The Bethlehem School District is creating a mobile app development class. The class would help high school students develop apps for smartphones and tablets, like the iPad seen here.AP File Photo | MARCIO JOSE SANCHEZ

Of all the new classes planned for the 2013-14 school year, Jack Silva is most excited about the mobile app development class.

If the Bethlehem Area School Board approves the class, high school students will be designing apps for cellphones, tablets and other devices.

"That's the way the world is going as far as design and sharing and organizing information," said Silva, the district's assistant superintendent.

Brian Ding, a Parkland High School math and computer science teacher, built the app from scratch. Now he's teaching an app development class to 12 students.

"They are basically working on developing educational apps," Ding said, adding the programs will be used on iPods in elementary classrooms.

An app is a computer program that can be added to cellphones and other mobile devices to perform specific tasks. Popular apps include everything from games to shopping savings opportunities to financial management tools.

Liberty High School Assistant Principal Beth Guarriello said there's
interest in building an app that can monitor buildings' energy usage and store the data so students can then use it
in science classes.

The app development course is part of Bethlehem's push to allow students
to individualize their high school courses and graduate career- and college-ready kids, Silva said.

"We're trying to make things a bit more relevant," Silva said.

Bethlehem school director William Burkhardt praised the high schools'
staff for recognizing when it's time to drop a course in favor of a new
idea.

Ding started developing the class at Parkland about two years ago after recognizing more parts of life going mobile. Colleges are beginning to offer degrees in mobile app development, he said.

"This is a stepping stone to prepare them for what's coming up in the future," Ding said.

Ding's effort to start the class last year faltered when not enough students met the stringent prerequisites needed to understand the programming language. New software, called Corona SDK, allowed Ding to lower the requirements and get the class running.

The majority of Ding's students have two years of computer programming experience.

"They love it," Ding said. "They're into it. They go home and do stuff at home, which I think is amazing. ... I am excited because they are so into it."